A few black and whites from my first few weeks with the K5. I think I finally worked out some of the bugs (bad SD card, AF adjustment to -4 with the DA21 lens after some disappointingly unsharp shots).

Both processed with Silver Efex Pro 2 (trial). I think I may end up buying the full version as it is a ton of fun to play with.

Wish I could have stood a little more still in the first shot as I'm a little blurry (long exposure to blur the water).

[ZizZ^]

Cool stuff! Personally, missing a bit of sharpness in the first photo. How's that DA 21 to work with?

[sb in ak]

Cool stuff! Personally, missing a bit of sharpness in the first photo. How's that DA 21 to work with?

That is my gripe with this shot. I wish I could have gotten the rocks especially a little sharper. I was pushing the limits trying to blur the water, which is hard to notice anyway (f/22 ISO 80, 3 sec.) Probably should have just backed off a bit for a cleaner shot. Maybe I'll try another go at the PP.

I'm not sure yet with the DA21. It's actually the only lens I have for the camera at the moment (got the rig as a lightweight travel/hiking setup possibly to replace the good yet heavy 5D Mark II) so I don't have a lot to compare it to. I'd like to get more of the limited primes, but they're kind of expensive, so I have been looking at solid manual focus alternatives at least to tide me over.

Anyways, my take on the DA21:

Pros: It is an excellent walkaround lens--a very useful focal length on APS-C. It's tiny, making the entire rig a joy to carry. It has a quality feel to it. The lens delivers nice colors and good contrast.

Complaints: So far I have been a little disappointed as it doesn't seem as sharp as it could be (though I just tuned the AF to -4 and it seems a bit better now). I think my 24-105L and 17-40Ls beat it in sharpness at similar focal lengths but maybe that is a reflection of the 21MP 5DII sensor. F/3.2 is a little slow but that's not a big problem, as I see this lens more as a landscape/street photo lens where that doesn't seem as crucial. CA is there but nothing that post processing can't fix.

Overall, a solid little lens, which seems to trade a bit of sharpness for size and portability.

[ZizZ^]

Thanks for that little review! Definatly a lens i'd like to look into! I did notice your Exif file and figured you used a tri-pod for that shot? If it's handheld then its bloody sharp actually

[sb in ak]

Thanks for that little review! Definatly a lens i'd like to look into! I did notice your Exif file and figured you used a tri-pod for that shot? If it's handheld then its bloody sharp actually

Yup, tripod!

[Clarkey]

Nice shots, for the first, I definitely think you have some diffraction happening there at F22 - I have observed the same with my copy:

Link

However at F5.6-F11, it is sharp enough for me.

You've certainly made me curious about the silver effex plugin - might have to take a look at that.

[sb in ak]

Nice shots, for the first, I definitely think you have some diffraction happening there at F22 - I have observed the same with my copy:

Link

However at F5.6-F11, it is sharp enough for me.

You've certainly made me curious about the silver effex plugin - might have to take a look at that.

Cool shot!

Silver Efex is pretty sweet. So much so that I'm tempted to buy it. There is a free 15 day trial you can download that seems to have full or near full functionality (no watermarking). Word of advice: it's very easy to give your photos an overprocessed look, especially when playing with the structure settings.

[slowpez]

Love the B&W treatment you gave these. Silver Efex certainly seems to do the job. The first one is so close to being perfect. Try it again and stand still next time.

[JohnLegrand]

Nice job i like it!

[romansolar]

nice work